Business Highlights

DETROIT (AP) – General Motors Corp.'s new chief executive said Tuesday that more of the automaker's plants could close as part of GM's effort to meet new, tougher requirements for government aid.

In his first news conference as CEO, Fritz Henderson said he expects the company would "need to take further measures" in terms of plant closures. That's beyond the five plants the company said it would shutter when it submitted a restructuring plan to the government last month.

GM also is likely to offer another buyout program to workers as it looks to cut labor costs, Henderson said.

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Consumer confidence holds steady in March

NEW YORK (AP) – Americans seem more resigned to the hardships of the recession as consumer confidence stabilized in March after falling to an all-time low in February.

But economists caution that shoppers – dealing with shrinking retirement funds, falling home values and worries about job security – are still very gloomy and any improvement in sentiment is fragile.

The Consumer Confidence Index issued Tuesday by the New York-based Conference Board edged up to 26.0 in March from a revised 25.3 reading in February. It had fallen from 37.4 in January and is less than half its level of a year ago.

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Wall Street rebounds on last day of the quarter

NEW YORK (AP) – Wall Street ended a tumultuous March on a high note, managing its first winning month this year and its best monthly performance in nearly seven years.

Stocks finished off their earlier highs on Tuesday but resumed a three-week rally that has brought the Dow Jones industrials up a total of 16 percent since hitting their lowest level in 12 years on March 9.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 86.90, or 1.2 percent, to 7,608.92, after earlier rising as much as 203 points. The Dow rose 7.7 percent overall in March, its biggest monthly gain since October 2002.

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US home price drops set records in Jan.

WASHINGTON (AP) – Home prices sank by the sharpest annual rate on record in January, and the pace continues to accelerate, but there were a handful of battered metro areas where price declines slowed, according to data released Tuesday.

The Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller index of home prices in 20 major cities tumbled by a record 19 percent from January 2008. It was the largest decline since the index started in 2000. The 10-city index dropped 19.4 percent, also a new record.

All 20 cities in the report showed monthly and annual price declines, with 13 posting new annual records. Prices dropped by more than 10 percent in 14 cities. Faring better were Dallas, Denver and Cleveland, with annual price declines of around 5 percent.

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Ford, GM to cover car payments if buyer loses job

DETROIT (AP) – Ford Motor Co. and General Motors Corp. are offering payment protection plans to help reassure consumers who may be putting off buying a new car because of worries about losing their job.